Troublesome Woman
by Bluebellis
Summary: Temari returns to Konoha with a rematch on the brain. The fight turned chess match has unexpected results. .:Oneshot:. .:ShikaTema:.


**Hey, this is my first fic, so please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters**

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"You want what?" Shikamaru asked, staring up at the blonde.

"You heard me. I want a rematch," Temari said sternly.

Shikamaru sighed. _Just when I thought I was done with this troublesome woman, she ends up here, again, demanding for me to fight her!_ He stood from his resting spot on the high, lush green hill behind Konoha. It was his only place to retreat from the noisy troubles of everyday life and cloud-watch or nap. He had been _hoping_ that he would get some rest and relaxation.

He figured that, unless he gave her her rematch, though, she would never go away. No matter how much he had wanted to relax for once, it looked like a rematch was on his agenda. Maybe, just maybe, he could turn it to his liking, though.

"Ok, if I rematch you, will you leave me alone?"

"Well, if this fight actually goes all the way through, then yes," she huffed, arms folded across her chest.

"Alright, then. A fight, but I want it under my terms, or else I'm not doing it."

Temari frowned. _Under his terms?_ Everything usually went by her terms, and having him directly tell her that things were going to go his way only upset her. But, of course, her urge to finalize her victory was too strong to be pushed aside by a minor setback.

"Yes. By your terms."

"Ok then," said Shikamaru, pulling a small board from his backpack.

A chess set? Temari just about lost it at that. She had wanted a _fight_, not some stupid game! What had all of her training been for if all the were playing was a mind game? It didn't matter, though, because Temari knew her strengths, and strategy was one of them.

"Why?"

"A fight under my terms is a chess match."

"Fine a chess match it is, but I still want that fight later."

Shikamaru set up the board, putting the pieces in place. Temari sat down across from him, a nasty scowl etched onto her face. She looked at the board carefully, analyzing multiple different strategies she could use in order to win the game.

In the meantime, Shikamaru yawned and relaxed. _No need to worry…_They both made their initial moves, staring at each other's pawns. There may not have been words spoken, but the tension between the two as they navigated their pieces around the board spoke for them.

Finally, Temari had Shikamaru's king cornered, her queen ready to go in for the kill. She looked down at the chess piece hungrily. _One move until victory…one move…_

"You put up a good fight, Nara, but the queen will always outshine the king," she chuckled.

She hadn't been watching closely, though, and from behind her queen came the knight, knocking her chess piece off the board. She sat and stared, awestruck.

"You were so busy defending your king and trying to kill mine, you didn't realize that it wasn't your king I was aiming for, it was the queen. The match is mine!" shouted Shikamaru excitedly.

"You won? I…I guess I surrender," she muttered with a frown.

"Maybe you shouldn't have asked for that rematch," Shikamaru beamed.

"Where'd you learn to play chess like that?" said Temari surprised that she had lost to such a slacker.

"Let's just say I'm the King of Chess," Shikamaru teased.

"Oh, don't get _too _full of yourself."

Temari grimaced at his inflated ego. _I shouldn't have lost_. She was still in shock that such a small move could have turned the table so well.

"Oh, I'm not, I'm just informing you about why I won the fight that _you_ challenged me to."

"I was talking about a _real _fight. Not a stupid old game of chess. I trained for this, and you forced me to play a game instead of fight," Temari frowned.

"Stupid, is it just stupid because you lost?"

"No, actually I am really good at chess, I was just a little rusty from not playing for a while."

"Sure…" Shikamaru was having fun now.

He had never imagined that taunting the sand-nin would be so entertaining. She reacted to every last comment, and the way she huffed and frowned made him only want to tease her more.

"I'm serious! Challenge me again when I've gotten used to playing and I'll beat you just like I will in that fight we're going to have!"

"If I remember right, I was about to win the one that we had before…"

"So, I was not aware that you…you…well"

"Was any good at fighting? Well look at who underestimated who. I'm not stupid, you know."

"No, just, your moves, they were…"

"Better than yours?"

"No, just that, okay alright. You've got a good mind for strategy."

Shikamaru stood up from his seat and Temari did too. For a moment, they stared at each other, acknowledging the other as an equal opponent. Shikamaru had thought of her as an over-confident woman who didn't know when to give up, but to his surprise, she had almost won the game. On the other hand, Temari had thought that this would be as easy as simply confirming her superiority and going home. Never in a million years had she expected to loose, again.

Temari knew that if she just went home and brushed up on chess, he would never ask her for a rematch, but there was one way she could ensure that he did. She leaned in close, her face a foot away from his.

Shikamaru immediately looked shaken, blush spreading across his face. He attempted to take a step back, tripping over his own foot and landing on the grass with a _plop_. Temari was relentless, though, and continued forward, dropping to the ground next to him.

"You're _really_ smart, Shikamaru…" she trailed, leaning in even closer.

"Ah…oh…thanks?" he said, nothing but hesitation and doubt speaking for him.

Temari leaned in so close that Shikamaru could hardly breathe. Her face was only inches away from his. _What is she doing?_

"And if you want to finish _this_," she said, her lips so close to his he could almost feel them, "Invite me over for a chess match sometime soon, okay?" she said, hopping to her feet and leaving Shikamaru laying sprawled on the ground, sweat coating his face, and head spinning.

"Wait…what?" he asked, catching his breath.

"Invite me over for another rematch and I'll be happy to finish," Temari said with a smirk.

_Troublesome woman…_


End file.
